Government draft sets stage for nationalization of electric utility

Armenia’s Ministry of Infrastructure published a draft decision on Monday revealing its intention to nationalize 100% of the shares of Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), a utility owned by Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan.

The decision marks the latest development in the ongoing saga around the potential state takeover of the country’s main electricity distributor and will ultimately require approval by parliament.

“Electric distribution networks are strategic infrastructure, disruption of which may lead to large-scale social, economic and security-related consequences,” the draft said. It added that ENA operates across the entire territory of Armenia, ensuring electricity supply to households, hospitals, schools, water systems, communications and the broader economy.

The draft stressed that ENA’s activities cannot be considered ordinary private business, but rather the management of infrastructure of public importance, which should be subject to strict state control.

Previous reports indicated that the government had earlier offered Karapetyan’s Tashir Group a buyout deal worth a symbolic $380,000, which was rejected. Tashir has owned ENA since 2015.

The nationalization push comes amid tensions between the authorities and Karapetyan. Since July, the billionaire has been under investigation on accusations including calls for violent regime change and alleged economic crimes, following his public statements about intervening in the government’s standoff with the leadership of the Armenian Church.

Karapetyan later founded the opposition Strong Armenia party, which participated in parliamentary elections held earlier this month, finishing second behind the ruling Civil Contract party with 23.3% of the vote. Although Karapetyan himself did not run due to holding foreign citizenships, he remained the central figure of the party’s campaign.